Charity regulation
eolas summarises the new system which will go live in October.
The countdown is now under way to the formal establishment of the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA) next month. Its interim members have already been appointed and the first significant change will be the introduction of an official register of charities.
The Revenue Commissioners’ Charities Section already maintains a database of organisation which have been granted charitable tax exemption, published at www.revenue.ie
An organisation can be classified as a charity if it exists for the relief of poverty, the advancement of education and/or religion, or other purposes beneficial to the community.
Ireland moved towards a formal system of charity regulation after a strong independent regulator – the Charity Commission – was established in England and Wales in 2007.
The Charities Act was enacted in February 2009 and statutory instruments have put several sections of the Act into practice. Courts are now allowed to grant relief from liability to a charity trustee for breach of trust where the trustee acted in good faith.
The sale of pre-signed Mass cards has also been limited to persons approved by Catholic bishops and the leadership of holy orders.
The establishment of the CRA was delayed on cost grounds during the bail-out but revelations about high salaries and poor governance at Rehab and the Central Remedial Clinic put the issue back on to the political agenda. In January this year, then Justice Minister Alan Shatter announced that he would appoint an interim CEO for the regulator by the end of February and appoint a Chair and board before Easter (20 April).
Úna Ní Dhubhghaill – an official in the Department of Justice and Equality – was named as the first Chief Executive on 1 March. She holds a masters in applied governance from UCD and is assisted by a 10-strong staff.
The board was announced slightly later than planned, on 30 April, under the chairmanship of Conor Woods (head of advisory with Woods & Partners). Its first meeting took place on 29 May and the Charities Regulatory Authority will be formally established on 16 October.
Five board members are currently senior managers in charities: Fergus Finlay (CEO, Barnardo’s); Cynthia Clampett (CEO, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation); Barbara O’Connell (CEO, Acquired Brain Injury Ireland); Anna Classon (Head of Fundraising, RNLI); and Tom Costello (Programme Executive, Atlantic Philanthropies).
Three others also have direct experience of charitable work: Hugh Maddock (fundraiser, Rehab Group); Senan Turnbull (consultant, Irish Hospice Federation); and Noel Wardick (consultant, CDM Ireland).
Four members are lawyers: Katie Cadden (owning her own practice); Patricia Cronin (Cleaver Fulton Rankin); Ann Fitzgerald (barrister); and Graham Richards (Matheson Ormsby Prentice).
Another three are accountants: David Brady (formerly with Marsh Ireland); Sandra Chambers (owning her own practice); and Patrick Hopkins (Enterprise Ireland).
Charities would be required to make a contribution to the costs of this new system through the payment of “modest and proportionate” annual registration fees. Over time, the regulator would raise awareness about the public benefit which charities are expected to generate, share best practice, monitor compliance with the law and investigate alleged wrongdoing.
Charity Commissioners
As an organisation, the CRA is entirely separate from the Charity Commissioners although Graham Richards is a member of both bodies. The 11 commissioners were established in 1845. They hold office in an unpaid, voluntary capacity are appointed from time to time by the Government.
The commissioners have the powers to appoint new charitable trustees (where a vacancy arises), authorise the disposition of lands held upon charitable trusts, advise trustees and executors who find themselves in difficulty, resolve claims by or against a charity, frame schemes of incorporation, and make vesting orders freeing charity property in certain circumstances. The current Chairman is the Hon Mr Francis D Murphy, a retired Supreme Court Justice.
